Triceratops horridus
Coloration: Male – Green and brown mottled body with darker back striping. Individuals may appear darker than others, often looking grey or near black from distances. Female – Brown-grey mottling with lighter brown back striping. Juvenile (both sexes) – Brown and green mottled body. Diet: Low-growing plants, from shrubs and ferns to fallen fruits and tough woody vegetation. Triceratops will also sometimes scavenge from animals already dead. The sharp beak and powerful jaws can crush bone with ease. Preferred Habitat: Open spaces broken by brush. Social Structure: Herds of up to 15 individuals, mostly female. Dominant individuals are usually male, but in the absence of males females are equally capable of filling in for dominant position. Like bull elephants, some of the oldest, largest males are solitary and only locate herds in search of females. Description: Large, quadrupedalal herbivore. Small nasal horn with long brow horns, moderately elongated frill with small sharp nodules decorating the edge. Sharp curved beak. Body large, bulky, and robust. Young have poorly developed frills and stubby horns. Behaviors: Like Stegosaurus, Triceratops is one of Isla Sorna's most easily-recognized dinosaurs, and it is also among the most dangerous of the island's herbivores. Its head-end is well-protected - as well as its sharp horns, its short frill is solid and bony, and provides some protection around the neck region from the sharp teeth of its predators. Its back-end is vulnerable, and so Triceratops tends not to turn its back on an enemy; being capable of rapid turning in order to keep a predator in its sights. Despite its bulk Triceratops can charge alarmingly fast, throwing its weight and driving the double brow horns deep into the underbelly of an aggressor. Immensely powerful, a full-sized, healthy Triceratops is capable of lifting animals and objects up to a tonne in weight with its head alone, and the deadly brow horns have the potential to inflict fatal wounds. Triceratops has even been known to kill a full grown Tyrannosaurus via impaling, while smaller predators are typically mown down and trampled to death. Triceratops has poor vision and relies on its sense of smell to detect danger. Much like a rhinoceros, Triceratops is quick to aggravate, even by accident. Sometimes merely walking too close to a herd of these animals can prove to be risky business, as Triceratops has the tendency to charge at anything that it may consider a threat to itself or its young, be it a predator or a harmless herbivore. For this reason most predators avoid hunting this short-tempered herbivore unless they have the benefit of a pack. Triceratops herds tend to have more females, with a few males taking charge over three or four females each. Disputes are common amongst the males in particular, with jealous males wanting to add other males’ females to their own harems. In the absence of males, the most dominant females in an all-female herd will take charge, becoming more aggressive and battling each other for dominance. Such disputes are resolved by the famous head-pushing contests, whereby after a series of bellowing and elaborate displaying, two individuals will lock horns and shove to and fro in tests of strength. These battles can be very dangerous for the participants, as one or both of the opponents has the potential of losing a horn and thus having less a chance of winning future fights and defending themselves effectively from predators. With the defeated males often being ousted from the herd, it is usually the case that their injuries distract them from the approach of hungry carnivores and those with broken horns are at a serious disadvantage. In some circumstances, some of the larger males (and occasionally females) actually choose to live alone. With no herd members to help look out for danger, a lone Triceratops' aggression heightens so much so that it has the tendency to charge at anything without the slightest provocation. Therefore, most predators choose to leave them well alone, preferring to go after easier prey that is less likely to put up a fight. When a Triceratops herd is threatened by a big predator such as Tyrannosaurus, the adult members bunch together to form a circle with horns facing outwards, pushing the vulnerable infants into the center behind the defensive wall. Not only does this protect the infants, but it also keeps the defenseless tail-ends of the adults guarded against attack from the rear. The adults outside the circle closest to the threat will bellow, sway their large heads and stamp their feet in unison in an attempt to deter the predator. Usually the most vocal and aggressive in the defense of the herd are the males. The most dominant of the males are likely to charge if the predator is unwise to stick around. Triceratops spends about a half of the day eating and one third resting during the hottest part of the day, either standing idle in the shade or wallowed in mud beside rivers and lakes. Triceratops herds thrive on the Game Trail and they have learned to co-exist in relative harmony with the myriad of herbivores which share its habitat, as long as the other species are respectful its personal space. Triceratops is most likely to mingle with herds of Styracosaurus, and occasionally a Triceratops herd can be seen walking beside a lone adult Mamenchisaurus, combining great size with horns and aggression and therefore making these animals even less likely to be approached by their predators. During the mating season, the male Triceratops flushes blood into the blood vessels running through his frill, making the frill appear tinged with red. Each male bellows and sways his head continuously to attract the females, and fights between males become commonplace as each one tries to keep as many females as possible while preventing them from wandering off to join rival males' harems. The noise caused by their mating battles often attracts the lone, aggressive, larger-sized bulls which wander between herds, and more often than not the females will choose to side with them rather than the males of their own herds. The jousting battles help to weed out the weak and the old, leaving only the best to sire the next generation. Several large nest bowls are made per herd, and two or three females each deposit their eggs in a single nest. The young remain in the nest and are fed chewed up plant material until they are big enough to move around with the adults without the threat of being accidentally crushed underfoot. Juvenile Triceratops are very playful, and genders can be distinguished by their distinct method of play. Females chase one another and tend to stick close to the adults, while males are noisier and a lot more rash; often play-fighting one another by bashing heads, mimicking the jousting battles of the adults. While adult's calls are composed of deep bellows, grunts, snorts and rumbles, the young's calls are higher in pitch, consisting of squeals, bleats and squeaks, producing a shrill cry when scared. Category:Dinosaur Category:Herbivore